About last night …

This time around, the coach didn’t call out P.K. by name.
In his postgame remarks, Michel Therrien praised Subban for his effort in a third period dominated by the Canadiens en route to their 5-2 win.
And when questioned about a Too Many Men penalty in the second period, Therrien said there was miscommunication between two players, neither of whom he identified.
It was P.K. jumping on before Alexei Emelin left the ice.
The coach didn’t name names because one of the names is the best darn defenceman he’s got.
And I don’t mean Emelin.

Subban scored twice against the Islanders. His five shots on goal tied Michael Ryder for the team high on the game.

P.K. has nine goals. That’s tops among NHL defencemen. His six on the power-play – which went 2-for-4 on Long Island – tie Subban with Brian Campbell for the league lead.

Despite an overtime mistake against Buffalo that drew the ire of his coach and had everyone buzzing midweek in hockey-obsessed Montreal, P.K. has played himself into Norris Trophy consideration this season.

It’s a distinguished field: Kris Letang, Ryan Suter, François Beauchemin, that guy in Boston. But P.K. is definitely part of the conversation.

And there will be another conversation in about 12 months … or maybe less. The interlocutors will be Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin and Subban’s agent, Don Meehan.

Guy Carbonneau was on the postgame edition of L’Antichambre. Carbo rarely misses an opportunity to subtly slam the Canadiens management – notably his former friend, Bob Gainey – who fired him.

In this instance, Carbo blasted the Canadiens’ policy, under Gainey, of not negotiating contracts during the season. It had cost them Mark Streit, who liked Montreal and would have signed for less than he ended up getting from the Islanders as a UFA after the 2007-’08 season.

Other defencemen who were allowed to walk: Sheldon Souray, Mike Komisarek, Francis Bouillon.

P.K. is better – and younger – than all of them. And if Bergevin is as smart as I think he is, Subban will be signed long-term before his current two-year contract expires next season.

The joint brain fart with Emelin notwithstanding, Subban was brilliant on the Island. And he had a company, as the Canadiens showed some heart and cojones in a win that wasn’t as easy as the score suggests.

Price has neither a dazzling GAA or save percentage. What he has is Ws – 16 of them, to tie Marc-André Fleury for the league lead.

And if Price isn’t brilliant during an Islanders power-play in the second period, maybe those third-period heroics never come to pass.

There may be more pressure-packed jobs than playing goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens. The Jeremy Renner character in The Hurt Locker worked up quite a sweat defusing IEDs. But no one went on Iraqi all-sports radio to crap on his glove-side technique.

Criticized for what looks like nonchalance, Price may have the perfect temperament so survive all the BS a Canadiens’ goalie has to endure. On L’Antichambre, Mathieu Darche praised his former teammate’s “mellow” personality.

Price has not let that mellow be harshed by all the grandstand goaltenders who pick over his technique, but the critics will not be silenced until he wins a playoff series … or four.

The Thursday night game did not offer much to indicate how your Montreal Canadiens will perform in May. For 40 minutes, they struggled under the relentless forecheck of a team that is not a Stanley Cup contender.

For a few shifts in the second period, Therrien dropped David Desharnais off his customary line, moving Lars Eller up between Brendan Gallagher and Max Pacioretty. DD – whom Bergevin signed to a new contract this week – came back strong in the third period, set up Brian Gionta’s winner and ended the game with two assists and a plus-3.

It’s interesting, however, that Eller’s 18:41 of ice time exceeded Desharnais’ and Tomas Plekanec’s. So who’s the number-one centre on this team?

And do the Canadiens need one, or can the Pleks-DD-Eller troika carry the team through a postseason run?

We may get an early answer next week, when the Canadiens play that bellwether back-to-back in Pittsburgh and Boston.

Rene Bourque should be back by then. Anyone up for some line-shuffling?

I liked the lines floated on L’Antichambre: Bourque-Plekanec-Gionta, Max-DD-Ryder (back on his natural RW), Galchenyuk-Eller-Gallagher. Brandon Prust, when he comes back, would play on the fourth line and perhaps be spotted on the Top Three when the Canadiens need a spark.

Maybe I’m overthinking and compulsively tinkering here.

The Canadiens have won 20 of their 30 starts (a level it took 53 games to reach last season) and are 11-2-2 on the road. Since that 6-0 loss to the Leafs on Feb. 9, the Canadiens have lost once in regulation time, taking points in 18 of 19 games.

Consistency.

This with a lineup that’s too small, a goaltender who never steals games, no scorers among the NHL’s Top 40 … and four rookies in the lineup on Long Island.

Komisarek assigned to Marlies – no takers after being put on waivers…ouch.
And to think, Habs’ management, at the time, were grooming him to be the next captain…*WHOOSH*﻿ (sound of a bullet being dodged). I was happier than the palestinians after 9/11 when the Loafs signed him!
I do, however, have some good memories of Komi before his Lucic meltdown, and I wish him the best in the future. I hope he can put things back together in the minors.

I have seen tweets that he has been on the ice but not with the team. I wouldn’t hold your breath on him playing tomorrow. I think they will rest him until needed. Hopefully he is back before we play Boston though. The habs need his grit.

The Boston game is when we’d most like to have him. Is there any chance we should go counter-intuitive and keep him sidelined til after Boston? It’s the one fixture when a recovering shoulder would be most likely to be re-injured. Especially since what we want him for is “grit”. We won’t OUT-grit Boston, with or without Prust. How about waiting a little bit longer, and meantime try to beat the Bruins playing Montreal hockey?

Has nothing to do with Boston being Boston…more to do with the two teams also in contention for the 1 and 2 seeds in the conference. It was originally supposed to be 10 dyas…looks like longer now and the team is far stronger with Prust in the lineup.

No doubt in my mind the only way the habs can beat boston is by playing habs hockey and not Bruins style. Prust though, is great on the Pk and his energy on the boards as well really helps create space. I would love to have Bourque back for next week as well for his speed

I take it back…3rd for Streit…I ad no idea he was 35. Sure doesn’t seem it out there…I was thinking he was early 30’s and could work longer term but wow…35 already? No wonder he had to take the money and run

Still two more years of Alexei Yashin at over 2 million for the Islanders…I wonder if fans who are now in University even know who he is? and two more years? wow…..sucks to the Isles.
Too bad there was no buyout of a buyout clause.

What a great situation, being able to address this issue from within the organization. I like the cut of Tinordi’s jib, he’s going to be a good one. I could see one of the other D prospects being a part of a trade for a player for the playoffs. Although there are alot of people looking and not alot out there.

No scorers in the top 40, or goal scorers in the top 20, but Max is #41 in points, Pleks is #24 in goals, there are 9 Habs in the top 150 point getters, and 7 in the top 60 (Actually 56) goal scorers, there’s your recipe for success.

Don’t get caught by your boss, because he may get mad and say you did something wrong, and then a whole bunch of people on here will say you have a mean boss and he never says anything positive when you do right things.

Two serious posts caught my eyes this morning. I hope the posters dont mind iif I try to highlight their remarks to trigger some reaction. I think they are worthy issues to go back and forth on.

A) The retirement of Alexei Kovalev. The poster lamented about the sad and almost inconspicuous end to a notable career.

My take is different. I believe that Kovalev had evolved over the past 4 years or so from being a hockey player to being a sort or Renaiisance Artisan on a ‘smell the roses’ walk through life. His skills had not diminished so much as his dedication to hockey had. I say his retirement was long overdue… he was just no longer inerested.

B)One poster stated emphatically that Pice has to play against Boston. I say differently. I think Budaj is a very comfortable against Boston and should pllay against them. Not only does he deserve to be given the ‘challenge’ but I think his style of goaltending stymies Boston well. Price plays against the Pens which is a game where he will be ‘kept in the game’ because of their high-octane offense.

Mornin’ T. Couple of weeks back when Carey was shelled for 7 then 6 goals, I gave a line of reasoning that a break for Carey to re-group would be wise. Loonie, I think, argued (in a positive way may I say) “you’ve got to play your best against the best.” Carey then stole the game in Carolina, stopping all 19 shots he faced in the second period.

Against lesser teams, we have to pile up points in the standings, but against the Bruins, we have to measure our best. If we lose, then there will be lessons learned, by the coaches mainly and not MB, as to what changes in strategy would be needed to win the next time. We know we have the players to beat the Bruins consistently.

Hey Trini.
Agree about AK. It is sad — not his quiet retirement, but that he didn’t make even more of his talent, couldn’t escape the various negative tags that stuck to him. (And for all his great goals, when I think of him I remember how he hunted down Tucker!)

I also agree that Budaj probably feels comfortable vs the Bruins who may not like to see him in nets. But I think I’d rather see CP win face the Bruins again before the playoffs.

I also would like to see Budaj face the Crosby and the Pens before the playoffs. It would be a good show of faith, and I think that’s psychologically important in the weird world of the back-up goalie.

Habs were due for a decisive win, 3 goal differential helps silence their critics!
Subban is a beast, and whatever Therrien is doing, well it seems to work. PK will get his big pay check soon enough.
I could not believe the defeatist attitude some had yesterday, talking like the Islanders were some fearsome powerhouse…
Isn’t it time now that we , as fan, go into any game with the idea that the team can win any game?

Glad we won last night. The First two periods were not pretty. The two goals the Isles got were really ugly and totally were defensive Gaffs on our side and they had trouble with the Isles forecheck.

The thing I really liked is the last couple of years the habs would have folded up like a cheap suit after a couple of bad goals but I think the youth movement really is helping this team keep pushing.

I am really interested to see what this team does come playoff time. I just hope they don’t get first with the Isles in 8th. I don’t think we would like the result

LOL!. I was talking about replacing Diaz. As for a shutdown guy, I just wonder if Tinordi could stand up throughout the playoffs. If they feel he can, then I say give the kid a chance. We’re already all in on Galchenyuk and Gallagher.

I mention Bergeron for two reasons. One to get a rise out of Timo and the other is in regard to the concern that Diaz may need too much time to recover from his concussion. Bergeron could be a perfect stop gap solution at little cost. Of course we already have Kaberle here who would fit the same role.

Thompson is a perfect depth player for the bottom six. He can play center and wing, kill penalties, win face-offs and is a energy type guy like White and Dumont. Bordeleau is a marginal NHLer at best and wouldn’t see much ice in the playoffs.

I’ll say one thing though, Bergeron is a hell of a lot better than Brian Lee. Not to mention that the entire Tampa defense has a grand total of just four PP goals. Subban and Markov can both top that team total on their own.

It snowed here again today. I envy anyone who is living in Tampa. I just love Siesta Key over in Sarasota.

Whats the latest on Prust? Are they just taking there time making sure he is 100% ready to go, or did he have some sort of setback. Their is certainly no reason to rush him back if he is not healthy, but I was just curious, haven’t heard much about him in a few days. Whats the scoop?

In all fairness, Kadri is 8th overall in NHL scoring (13/20/33/+19). The guy has been lights out all year long. This kid has major offensive scoring moves. Looks like the laffs may finally have a #1 center.

Kadri is a fine young player and the Leafs are a better team but their fans have got to get over the “plan the parade” mentality whenever they look like they might not REALLY SUCK. The loud thumping sound of everyone jumping on and off the bandwagon at the same time gets really annoying. Go Habs!

It’s the continual hype that is annoying. The media starts putting him up there with Stamkos just because the Tampa D is terrible and can’t prevent any goals, but they twist it as, Kadri shuts down Stamkos.

Also, Kadri is/was highly sheltered, and almost anything he does ends up in the net. Not sustainable in most cases.

Hopefully Bergevin gets Subban’s extension done this summer. 8 years at 6.5M I would say. Hopefully Subban will take a contract with the same cap hit as Price. If they wait until after next year and the cap goes up 2 or 3M, Subban will be looking at well over 7M.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again, congrats to Trevor Timmons. Our Defence is absolutely stockpiled for the next 10 years. Our defence right now with the exception of Markov and Bouillion is so young and then we have Tinordi, Pateryn, Beulieu, and Dietz all who will be NHL ready within the next 1-3 years.

The forwards aren’t looking too bad either, and we have a pretty good goalie between the pipes. Starter for Team Canada next year, that’s all. And on top of all of that we have 6 picks in he first 3 rounds, possibly 3 picks in the Top 40. Future is looking bright Habs fans.

I was a little disappointed with TSN 690 AM last night during their 11:00 P.M. show. The one after Connor Mckenna and Tony Marinaro post game show.

The topic of the show was about the fans, management and certain media outlets running Subban out of town. They pulled the entire French Vs English debate out of their bag of tricks and started taking calls.

The first caller totally ripped the station and said it was a garbage tactic to start a debate and have the lines light up. The caller stated it was completely unnecessary after a big win. The caller made the host look like an idiot and I thought it was the right thing to do.

I’ve got little to no respect for anything TSN, I wanted to watch the highlights last night to review some things that were said post game, TSN decided to play the Isles head coach and Tavares because you know, that’s what the Canadian population wants to see after a game

If I could uproot the family I’d move to Montreal and start my own radio station

Before you dump on TSN , there was only one English feed for the Habs game last night and that was MSG. MSG serves the NY and Long Island area so those fans are Islander fans and they have no interest in listening to Habs related interviews. There was nothing else TSN could show unless you wanted them to ask RDS but I am sure that would annoy the English Canadians. I would say about 90% of the Canadiens’ games that I get in the States are English feeds are from the other team. The Canadiens do not appear to have an English play by play team. Maybe Mr Molson can start an English cable TV station. You need to complain to the right people.

Heard it too an it was pathetic. Medias are short on stories to dwell on about the habs. The guys got points in 25 of the 30 games so far this season so there is not much to put the blame on…

This is cheap journalism as only Mtl can provide when it comes to the habs regardless of what language you speak. Honestly what else can you expect when you give the microphone to nobodies like Connor Mckenna ? Nothing personal ,he must be a very good guy but who the hell is he or thinks he is ?

Would love to see Price win a series or four but nothing in his resume suggests that he is capable of that.Even in 2008 when he won one, he was badly outplayed by the mighty Marty Biron in the second round and any subsequent noise the Habs made in the playoffs was due to Halak. I am old enough to have seen Plante,Dryden and Roy and unless Price is a very late bloomer he will not be in the class of any of these.Its difficult for a goaltender to be effective when he drops to his knees and remains there as the puck crosses his blue line.

We will soon see if the media cheering for his presumptive talent is justified or not

Seriously just SHUT-UP! You know what all those goalies had around them. A GREAT HOCKEY TEAM! Besides for this year, Price almost has had to win every game for them. Last time I checked a goalie can’t score and play defense. So before you go saying he can’t win a playoff series just think a little (If you can)

I know, Price is just a horrible goalie. Chances are he will be the starting goaltender for Team Canada next year in Sochi and he is leading the league in Wins. We got a real dud in him. Lets trade him for Halak.

I suppose the other perspective is that, he isn’t doing anything work related with the Oilers these days, or at least there is no appearance of work being done by management the past 5 years or so. So he has time to dedicate to the National team.

Good morning, all.
It must be that Buffalo Fire Sale at the top of the page this morning. Loads of great comedic lines on the board, including some hysterical shots at Tortorella.
This is why I’m so addicted to this place. Great one liners, serious discussion and all the armchair GMs and coaches.
Keep it coming, folks!

I would like to see Borque play on the eller, galchenyuk line and leave the rest the same. And plecky did play the point on the pp last year so why not do that so we can put an extra forward on the pp?

Please reconsider re Plekky on the point. I am assuming that you consider our PP subaltern (get it..good one eh subaltern.. man I’m good) with Subban on the point.. but you aint seen a turkey PP yet until you see our turtlenecked-one on the point on the PP. And this is no dig at him in his other roles, which he excels at.

I hope MT cuts Markovs time a bit back, don’t want to see this guy burn out. I noticed him playing the full 2 minutes on a couple PKs, that should be his time to rest I think. PK, Gorges, Bouillon, Emelin, Tinordi should be able to handle the load.

The Tank talk always amused me, as the reality was that we as (internet) fans have zero impact on how the team will perform. Taken a step further, no organization with a degree of respect to its fans would ever approach an individual game or set of games with hopes of losing.

Having said that, our team last year was what it was. It resulted in an exceptional draft choice which we should reap the benefits of for years. Tanking in Edmonton has led to a perpetual losing attitude where players become accustomed and accepting of losing. This can take years to rectify. I am no sports psychologist, but if I am an Oiler fan, I wonder if these young stars aren’t being taught that the NHL is about getting paycheques and not about winning versus losing.

Will the Bills make a play for Urlacher? Or perhaps James Harrison? They seem to like bringing in former stars to the roster in recent seasons, I don’t ask this with ridicule, but wonder if they once again may try this tactic.

The Oilers need to make a trade for a Stanley Cup champion veteran or two to take the team by the cojones (the most popular word om HIO this day) and lead them out of the wilderness of poor indifferent play. Until they do, I can laugh and laugh at them. (Almost as much as I guffaw at the laffs.)

The Oilers while loaded in skill are lacking in the two way players necessary to win a cup. Getting offensive dmen doesn;t help this …they need some guys who can play both sides of the puck. Ryan O’Reilly is someone they should have targeted big time..not Calgary. They could also use a winger with that same mentality. Hossa IMO is a perfect fit in Chicago for his ability to do the littel things and make them habitual…young players see a guy like that doing and they follow. CHicago also has Toews, Bolland, Sharp, Keith…all two way players.

You would have been given huge odds if you were to have bet on two rookies in the top nine forwards for this year’s team. The chain reaction was to have been: Tank->high draftpicks->five-year rebuild with a three-year shortcut.* No longer necessary.

Tank Talk will return!!! First we win 2 cups….and then….
“NO HONOUR FOR CONNOR” 2015 or ” TWO CUPS GETS US TANKED”
I am already enlisting for the 2015 draft where I believe Connor Mcdavid to be the closest thing we’ll see to Crosby in a long time. I know those are lofty expectations and the same was said of Mackinnon, etc…but the few times I have seen this McDavid play he is off the charts exciting..he just palys at such a high speed..then slows it down..and only he knows what is going to happen next.
While Tavares had skating issues when he was younger, Mackinnon is solid all around …McDavid just has that spark that Crosby or even a younger Ovechkin had….I cannot see him fizzling so let’s start the campaign now.

Did Patrick even win the Vezina in 1993, ’cause other than the Conn Smythe, that championship team had no award winners? Some of the best won’t be close to a championship this year (Stamkos, Tavares, Yakupov). I’m not against getting a phenom, but realistic championships are built on depth within the team.

lol…was more of a joke. There is no way a team that has the young stars and prospect pool the Habs do is contending for a first overall pick in two years. If they did it would be an anomoly and everything would have to go wrong like last year…long list of injuries, choas from top to bottom in management,etc…

Ed, I must defend the tankist. Tanking isn’t about wanting to lose, or even feeling like the team has no chance to win.

No, tanking is about not feeling that upset if the team actually does lose. It’s a defense mechanism, it’s a numbing of the psyche. Mostly, it’s about this:

We lost a lot of games in January and February last year. We sucked. And we got Galchenyuk at the draft in June. I have already forgotten those losses, but I’ll remember Galchenyuk for the rest of my natural life.

The Habs have back-to-back games against Pittsburgh and Boston on Tuesday and Wednesday. I feel that it’s a must to finish first in our division if the team wants to make a real run to the finals. With that in mind, I think Price needs to start both games.

If that happens, then maybe MT should give Budaj the start this Saturday against Buffalo. By doing so, it would give Carey Price a four day break at the two-thirds mark of the season. He would then be primed to play back-to-back games against the two teams that stand between the Habs and glory.

I’m starting to believe that this team just might be able to do something this year. I’m assuming that Bourque and Prust will be able to return to active duty at a 100% efficiency. The real concern has to be the health of Diaz. I can’t see a deep run without this guy. The PP will become too one dimensional and there’s no way the duo of Bouillon and Tinordi is going to hold up for four rounds. If Diaz is done for the year, then MB is going to be faced with a very tough decision.

Diaz is certainly a concern. The concussion happened nearly a month ago, and he’s still not skating. However, he is doing off-ice workouts, which means he’s improving. If he weren’t, he’d be stuck in a darkened room, able to do nothing. I really want him back. I want to watch him and Markov spinning their magic on the powerplay as they did at the beginning of the season. He’s become one of my favourite Habs.

Only in Montreal would a coach’s saying a player made a mistake and it would be addressed internally cause a media storm. Therrien was answering a direct question. What was he supposed to say? That he thought Subban made the right play? That the officiating was BS? He answered the question briefly, didn’t dwell on it, and went on to focus on the good things the team did. I don’t see any problem there, and I doubt anyone on the team does, including Subban himself. He knows he made a mistake. But all players make mistakes, and mistakes cost games. The player is shown video of what he did wrong, the coaches explain what he should have done, he tries to correct it. End of story – except in Montreal. Subban certainly redeemed himself with a great game last night.

For all of the talk about Subban previously and allegedly rubbing his teammates the wrong way I hope they can appreciate that he takes the focus off of them.

In the case of the Sabres game, Pacioretty and Desharnais should have bought Subban dinner. Their glaring mistakes on the first two Sabre goals were infinitely more egregious than Subban’s in Overtime.

Subban’s play whether it be good or bad takes the focus off of his teammates.

Im as “Pro-Subban” as they come but it was PK’s clearing attempt on that first goal that was thwarted by the Sabres D which lead to the goal. Of course DD or Max-Pax didnt help by not getting it out either…Just saying…

he could have refused to answer the question and told the media that it would be handled internally.

“next question”.

no coach should be calling out individual players during a media scrum.
and this is NOT unique to Montreal. This is a basic understanding in all of pro sports.
a good coach “protects” his players against the media pressure – especially the players who you will leaning on come playoff time.

MT never threw PK under the bus, he said it will be dealt with internally, it was a bad play and it cost the team a point, it had to be addressed and it was, end of story, except for the drama queens here

Sure could. Therrien’s start was truly amazing, he really doesn’t get enough credit for it and I’m not being sarcastic.

When coaches take over and implement culture changes they usually stumble out of the gate bigtime. Not because the players aren’t buying in but because they’re changing how they’re physically playing the game and how they approach it mentally.

Leads to a lot of great performances for a half game and terrible performances through the other half. We know from Habs editions past how that works out.

Darryl Sutter last year is a great example. All of that talent in Los Angeles and they didn’t exactly set the World on fire when he came in. It takes time.

I expect Adam Oates to have them in great shape as the playoffs approach if their goaltending holds up.

Edit: When I heard his “3 goals per game” sermon I was ecstatic. Probably because it’s something I preached as a coach. There’s the arrogance in me.

Further to your point T., I’ve never seen the Buffalo Sabres play as tentatively as they did their last two games (since their coaching change). Those buggers have been Habkillers since Gilbert Perreault passed the Baton to Pierre Turgeon who passed it to Pat Lafontaine who passed it to Daniel Briere and Chris Drury and so on. They can’t pass a torch in Buffalo ’cause the fire risk to too high.

Much as I dislike Kaleta, totally uncool for Orr to sneak-attack him. The code says you allow your adversary to drop his gloves first. Now, if Orr were to do what he did to Lucic on the weekend, I’ll give him a “Get Out of Jail Free” card.

There hasn’t been much talk about Kovalev’s decision to retire – the guys on RDS mentioned it after the game last night and I couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for the way in which a brilliant career ended with a whimper. I was upset when he left but thankful he wasn’t re-signed as his best days were obviously past. Thanks for the memories, Kovy, you brought us fans to our feet on more than one occasion and I wish you nothing but the best.

The “game” made the decision for Kovie. He’s a folk hero to many of us. No doubt he could find work in the KHL but I think he loves Canadian hockey. I bet if he were asked, he would rank his time in Montreal a close second to the Stanley Cup ring he won as far as best personal experiences in hockey go.

By the way…..Dodge Challenger! I still regard the Charger as a Plymouth. My friend in Coquitilam never drives his super shiny ’68 Challenger. Cheers.

Put this in the “I can’t believe what I just saw” department. Last night during the Bruins Sens game there was a typical Bruins scrum in front of the Sen’s net. Lucic had been trying to do a “Miller” on the Sen’s goalie all night. Anyway, Lucic was one of the aggressors in this scrum, pushing, face palming and shoving several Sen’s players. When the scrum ended he skated to the penalty box, sure that he would be called. After a short bit you can see him skate back on the ice. Lucic acted very surprised. The announcers all thought he had been ejected but low and behold he skated back to the bench and was not penalized. Just incredible. Daddy Campbell must have been proud.

Tom, I’m afraid some of your edginess has rubbed off on me. Can you help?
Seriously, I thought he played very well after a bit of a shaky first period. The speed of the game is still an adjustment for him.

I fail to understand why when Price is left alone with Tavares (as good a sniper as there is in the league) and he fans on the shot thus making the direction of the shot virtually impossible to predict where it is going is considered a soft goal. Unless the goalie gets lucky and it hits him, a goalie has no idea how to react to a fanned shot from that close, let alone from a player of the skillset as Tavares.

The second goal was keystone cops on defence. Yet when PK takes a slapshot from blueline with no screen and it goes in, people give credit to the shot.

Yes he has had some goals go in he should have saved, but overall he is playing solid fundamental goal for us. Seems to me when the Habs defence breaksdown, it results in very good scoring opportunities for the opposition.

Could it be the Halek supporter just never wanting to admit they were wrong? Sometimes I feel I’m watching a different game then them. Same with PK. Last night once again he was the best player on the ice. He makes one mistake and it seems some are ready to climb all over him. Mind boggling.

Only 2 teams in the league have less regulation losses after 29 and 30 games: Chicago and Anaheim.
The Habs’ performance in this shortened season is, to be blunt, elite. 3 scoring lines + 1 grinder, 2 remarkable Dmen in Markov and Subban and Price being the swizzle stick that stirs the drink.
I am rereading Dick Irvin’s excellent oral history of the Habs between 1940 to 1980.
Here’s a bit from Ken Dryden:”I was the goaltender at the Montreal Forum, which creates a problem because often there is very little role for you. A goalie plays a position where he feels he is a critical part of a win. Playing with that Canadiens team I didn’t feel that all the time. In almost every game, especially at the Forum, our team controlled the game. Most of the action was at the other end. Most of the shots were at the other end. It then became the goalie’s role not necessarily to win the game, but to not lose the game.
“It’s the same burden that Plante felt, that Worsley felt, that Durnan felt, and one which I’m sure any subsequent goalie will also feel.”
As per usual, Dryden nails it. After having to stand on his head every season thus far to secure wins, it is now Price’s job to not lose. That’s a hell of a weight, considering the Habs now are nowhere near the dominating team they once were.

One advantage you and I have over the young generation Cal, is having lived some glory years, and as a result, our enjoyment of the team’s current success is deeper, I think. Mornin’ Cal. I thought you lived near Burly and me.

Agreed – although in todays NHL this team may be closer to dominant than in many many years. There are no more 70’s Habs and 80’s Oil and Isles.

They also have 2 people who ARE dominant at their position which they have not had since 1996 – Carey Price and PK Subban. PK is playing so well – so nice to see. Price has been dominant for the last few years. Now that he has a team in front of him with direction and management that is not inept, he is more like Dryden each day – not being responsible for a loss.

Anyone who knows a goalie or two knows that they’d rather see 30 shots than 15. Certainly makes their job tougher when they have the time to run to the bench to make a pot of coffee and not miss a shot.

Price’s one knock from a mentality standpoint has been focus, being on a team that more often than not outplays its opponent doesn’t nurture improvement in the area, hopefully it speeds it up though.

Tough on goalies for sure. And don’t think for a minute the criticism will cease when he wins a cup(s). A certain aspect of the fan base is what have you done for me lately. Dryden and Roy were booed for crying out loud. CHeers.

Good post. It’s much harder for a goaltender to maintain his focus when he’s not seeing a lot of rubber than when the action is constantly in his end. And losing focus momentarily seems to be Price’s problem. But except for the point against Pittsburgh, he has not cost us games this season and, more often than not, he’s sharp when he has to be. He was great at the end of the second period last night; if he hadn’t been, that dominant third period likely wouldn’t have happened.

Gaston Therrien championed Price on L’Antichambre last night, saying that he’s only going to get better and pointing out that Corey Crawford, who until this year has been very ordinary, is older than Price. Goaltenders typically reach their potential in their late twenties. Price isn’t there yet. He’ll be fine.

Pretty sure he’d have stayed and played for Carbo quite happily had Gainey ponied up. Carbo was in the room and behind the bench so i’ll take his point of view and place a little more weight in it’s origin than anyone else who can only speculate on whether or not he liked his coach

Nice to see a team comeback in consecutive games in the third period, much preferred the result of the Islander 3rd period. This team is showing some good character in their resiliency as opposed to how 3rd periods went last season.

It is of concern how the team appears to have come out flat in these same two games, perhaps the team is guilty of looking at the standings and thinking these games will be a bit easier. I think in both instances they would have realized this is not the case.

I was hopeful at the start of this week that the team could get 5 out of 6 points in these 3 games, and a win on Sat. will provide this. Have to believe the Habs will be ready for the Sabres next game.

Hopeful also that Bourque can get back into the action Sat. and perhaps we can have Prust back for those big Litmus Test games against Pitt and Boston, he is missed. Watcing how this team has appeared to lack intensity early in these games, makes me wonder if saying Prust is MVP is perhaps more accurate than many believe.

Either way, the team is getting the wins and points it needs to stay in a good spot in the standings. Good on them.

Was in Anaheim monday and saw the sharks v ducks. Gomez is fitting in nicely, what a steal at 700K, hed be our 2nd best center the way he’s playing. 3rd row behind the bench, he was by far the most engaged on the team in terms of “chatter”..happy to see him “succeeding”

Habs won last night despite some terrible play and price looking like he’s back on the dope, most likely courtesy of Ryder but, keep winning the ones you should and we’re laughing.

BTW folks, just wanna say that although I troll pretty hard, I enjoy this site tremendously for the comments- be they from Bruins fans or uptight neurology professors up Rue Universite- thats right I know where you live old man!!!!!!

It didn’t occur to me before, but as a young kid I took part in a Roger Neilson hockey camp (back when Roger was coaching in Van) and one of our coaches, who taught me how to make tape to tape passes over sticks, was none other than Gerard Gallant (who was playing at the time for the Red Wings).

Good memories from hockey camp… I played for the Bruins (gag!), ate a lot of pizza, had a great time, and learned to pass the puck! And he was a great coach… and a very nice guy.

Thought I’d post this… for no reason other than to say thanks to Gerard who doesn’t get much press and is undoubtedly doing a great job with Les Boys. They’re passing’s pretty good this year!

And my regards to the Neilson family. Roger’s summer hockey camp was one of the highlights of my youth.

If a goalie has 2 bad games in his first 24 starts of a shortened season where he did not play prior to the season, I think most of us would say that’s understandable right? Right now Price’s GAA is 2.34 for 14th place in the league, and SV% is .912 for 23rd. Not great numbers for the number one goalie on an elite team.

However, if you eliminate Price’s worst two games – the 6-0 loss to the leafs and the 7-6 loss to the Pens – his GAA drops to 2.00 (probably a little lower actually) which puts him 5th in the league, and his SV% jumps to .925 for 6th in the league. Those numbers look a little better for an elite goalie in the league, don’t they?

Essentially, two games are screwing up his stats, and in an 82 game season they would have a lot less influence. Now I will agree with many that Price has not been as awesome as he was last year in more than a few games this year, but with the exception of two games (which weren’t entirely his fault either) he is playing very well.

I realize it’s not fair to eliminate Price’s two worst games and hold him up against the rest, but my point is that for 22 of the 24 games we have a goalie that is playing as well as nearly anyone else in the league.

What your saying applies to pretty much all the goalies in the league this season (did any go overseas during the lockout?)

Again, too much Grey Goose blurs the senses and just robbed at knife point, shoulda given the guy a head shot while he was patting me down. haha

Hindsight is 20/20

Edit, On the bright side, at least I found a good stream to watch the game before heading out under the influence! Even had the sense to get the plate number and give the guy a bogus pin number! Ahh the sweet smell of victory.

Even though i was to a degree a big fan of Gainey, Bob did end up being a bit of a Boob by stubbornly not re negotiating contracts mid- term and letting a few walk that should not have – see Streit an.d Souray. He sure got things right with Carey Price though – and that may well end up being the single biggest thing he did right during his tenure – making sure he had in place the single most important player to be this teams Superstar and best chance for a long awaited return to glory – Price is THAT good – better likely. A ‘thoroughbred’ indeed!

UND loses in OT. Go back to Grand forks to see if they get invited to NCAA hockey finals. Had a Frontanac moment. Free drinks at Hyatt or watch UND game in room. Reporting in now so you know which part won.
Also not feeling so well.

I like those lines that AC and Boone just posted and as for the Habs unfortunately this team plays like butt against the lesser team next week against the Bruins and Penguins they’ll play playoff level hockey just wait and see

Right now Plecks is the only centre the Habs have who can score goals at least at a 25 goal pace…i am resigned after watching him for the last 5 years that he will lose most faceoffs at the start of the pp or pk…he just does not have the ability to improve on this…DD will score minimal goals and despite the solid improvements by Eller he just does not seem to have a feel for scoring goals..will this change?..hard to say….

Talent wise the Habs should beat the Devils and the series would be a boring with minimal intensity…perfect for the Habs to be rested for the next round…The other teams in the playoffs right now would present a much more intense series…

I had a similar problem living in Ontario… paid a year for game center strickly for Habs. First couple games all good then black out. what the f? so I emailed customer service and word for word I don’t care for any games except for Montreal Canadiens. Sure enough I was blessed.. got them all. might of changed now seeing I don’t have game center. can’t get it on local go online. sportswebz works great!.
M.Gehlsen

Too much attention being paid to Subban. He’s part of a team, and it’s that team that is winning this year, not any one individual player. Team Spirit is at the core of the new “culture” in Montreal. It started at the top, when Bergevin formed a management team consisting of a half-dozen very good hockey people (instead of the overly self-reliant and reclusive Pierre Gauthier), and it runs on down the line to the players, where there are no “stars.” On any given night, the scoring comes from one or more of 3 well-balanced lines, with veterans and rookies alike working together to forge this season’s success.

I am really looking forward to this summer. Once we get the parade out of the way it should be another excellent draft haul.

But seriously.

Therrien did not call out Subban. Therrien said the matter will be dealt with internally. That means coaching. It means development. It means a 2 minute discussion and time to move on. Even Subban knows his own errors as Price knows when he lets in a goal he should have had. Subban is playing the best hockey of his career and I credit a lot of that to Therrien. And as Price said… chill out.

Speaking of Price. He is the real deal. One of the best goalies in the world today and he is not even 25 yet. Again… chill out.

As for Boston and Pittsburgh coming up… the measuring stick is the season… right up to when the Cup is hoisted. Individual games are merely notches in that stick.

HH: you have as much to do with P.K. Subban’s success as Therrien does. No evidence that P.K. would be as good or better with a different coach. (And, God, do I want a different coach). May Therrien is helping — we don’t know: Subban will do well–has done well-under whomever is coaching him.

Yes PK has natural skill. Yes he is a gym rat. Yes he has potential. Nevertheless the difference between PK now and PK last season is more than evident, it is remarkable. Put PK on another team, let’s say the Oilers, and he would be a turn-over machine. Anybody who can’t see Therrien’s (and his coaching staff’s) fingerprints all over PK’s game is in denial.

You were claiming Gomez was still elite last season. How’s that claim working out?

I like receiving compliments as much as giving them. But with PK you shouldn’t always compliment him, in fact anybody with loads of talent.. You do the opposite and focus on wraknesses and how to improve. Thats how we’ll get the bobby our out of PK. He already knows hes good, why would he hold out for money otherwise? The question is how much higher of a level does he want to go to. If he wants compliments, might as well be a Leaf.

And tge first rule of HIO is you don’t take shit personally or seriously

actually I don’t trust Therrien either, and have no problem admitting being a Guy Boucher fan, even if the Lightning are losing…. But I can see MB telling Mt how to deal with PK. For all of his gifts, I don’t doubt for a second that PK may actually be a bit of a difficult colleague. Anyways I’m rambling on beer now hah. Maybe Mt could use a few more to take the edge off his PK rage lol

Callers? I thought I wrote hosts…anyway PK did not look happy tonight. Fans are worried that he is being treated with too heavy a hand. After MT’s history in Pittsburgh, they are voicing their conerns. That’s all. I’m sure MB will want PK to take a home-town discount in his next deal. If he is unhappy, that won’t happen. Maybe we’re paranoid…but better paranoid than negligent.

Well said Booner, I have a hard time understanding why so many here think this kid has such a thin skin that he won’t allow himself to be coached, and he is going to take his ball And go home with a soothed in his mouth when his next contract is due for renewal.
“They don’t hang Conference Championship Banners from the rafters here”
Carey Price

I’ve been reading this site for a few years now, and just recently created my login.
I’ve thrown in a couple comments here and there; but here’s my first rant:

Can anyone tell me why we can’t seem to get Habs broadcasts through Gamecenter, or
Center-Ice while we’re at it?

I’ve been watching for years now through Center-Ice, but it was seriously pi$$ing me off
that all those (H)ome and (A)way games for all the other teams, they’ve rarely added the
TSN/CBC/RDS stream.
Now this year I decided to go with NHL Gamecenter Live to watch the games, thinking
that even through my iPad, or laptop, I could click on the “watch” logo under the habs side,
and get a Mtl local broadcast…but that doesn’t happen either. All i get is a message
to try the other broadcast because it’s just not made available.

Now, is it just me, or is there someone out there against showing Habs local broadcasts?
I got an answer from their help desk, saying it’s RDS who doesn’t feed them the games.
I call BS, but who knows.

I’m getting pretty tired of seeing our boys play, but having to listen to the opposing
team’s broadcast. Mostly I turn down the volume, and listen to TSN690 online, but to add
to my aggravation, the “LIVE” online stream is about 60-75 seconds behind, so trying to sync
the two isn’t much fun..and by the time I get it right, it’s halfway through the 1st period

If I have to listen to Jack Edwards’ voice ONE more time, I’m going to have a seizure.

I hear your pain about CI. I tolerate the play by play and during the Bruins games I just listen to RDS and pretend I understand a quarter of what is being said and then laugh at my translation when I tell my son what was just said.

“he just said he likes to wear cotton panties” my lil fella giggles and I carry on like that all night.

I’ve wondered the same thing for years……..outside of an occasional game on TSN most Habs games on Center Ice just give you the opponent broadcast unless it’s a Saturday HNIC game….I don’t understand this as it just seems to be Habs games that I have this problem, it is definitely frustrating being in the States and I don’t know what I’ll do if TSN 690 gets taken off the air.

When NHL Center Ice advertises that you will get up to 40 “out of market games” it means that you will not be able to see games that are played in the region you live. if someone in Toronto gets the package, there’s no Leafs games. It’s a matter of television rights. RDS owns the Quebec region, and only HNIC can penetrate that on Saturday nights.

Besides the fact that your original statement reminds me of a Penthouse Forum introduction, I live in Atlantic Canada and have an RDS subscription, so I see every game. Where do you live?
“They don’t hang Conference Championship Banners from the rafters here”
Carey Price

I had a similar problem living in Ontario… paid a year for game center strickly for Habs. First couple games all good then black out. what the f? so I emailed customer service and word for word I don’t care for any games except for Montreal Canadiens. Sure enough I was blessed.. got them all. might of changed now seeing I don’t have game center. can’t get it on local go online. sportswebz works great!.
M.Gehlsen

I caught Sportsnet Connected this AM because I wanted to see if my blurry memories were close. This is what I learned watching the highlights:
1) The Leafs dominated and outscored Buffalo. But Buffalo scored on a penalty shot late and seemed to get credit for the win.
2) Islanders outscored Montreal two to one but Montreal got credit for the win.

Felt like i was watching Basketball highlights… 3 minutes of Kobe dunking and shooting… quick note to say LA lost.